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[XDX]

I am Workin on a semi-advanced, rather-niche, slightly- obsessive project. I think this is the best place to post about it.

I am looking for suggestions and advice for plants+ to add to my 55 gal Paludarium project.
A paludarium is a terrarium with land and water parts. And a vivarium is a terrarium with both living plants and animals.
So I've been setting up this tank for like 4-5 months, adding features and plants and such, making sure everything's fairly stable. It's a 55gal I believe, 3ft wide x 2 tall x 1 deep; theres 2 waterfalls, a small "pond" or "stream", bout 2-6in of soil in different spots (most stays fairly wet, but there's water pumps that keep everything moving, and lots of cork board on the glass mount more epiphytes. It stays between 68-72F, 80-90+% humidity, pretty high light (but with shaded spots) on 12hr cycle.
Most terrarium enthusiasts have this small, basic list consisting of ferns, moss, pathos-like vines n ground-cover, plus bromiliads, and then orchids. I like moss, it's cool, bromiliads are cool, orchids are really cool a whole subject on their own, but aside from that, I'm mostly underwhelmed.
I have some of all these in there, but what I'd really like is to create a micro-ecosystem made up of medicinally or spiritually significant plants. More specific, I've just added a mating couple of poison dart frogs (Phyllobates vittatus), which are endemic to Costa Rica; if I could have plants also endemic to CR, or at least native there, that'd be ideal. But I just added an orchid found in the mts of Honduras, so if it's close, and it's a specimen and it twill survive the environment, I'm down. They will have to be either epiphytic, aquatic, or be able to tolerate pretty wet feet. There are a few places in the tank where the top of the soil will dry, but the whole depth isn't more than 6 inches, and probly a half in under is wet. Also, I don't want to prune all the time, so they'll have to be relatively small or compact plants. And, I mean I want it to look nice, putting all the thought into n all, so the plants should be showy by some means or another. I know that's a lot... Any suggestions??
And if anyone can suggest edible/medicinal mushrooms that could support balance in this ecosystem? Or what's up bioluminescent?? Part of a healthy balanced tank set up involves allying with fungal and creepy-crawly friends

What's in the tank so far:
Some foliage non-disript foliage plants; small palms, ficus groundcover, philodendron Frogmoss?
I think all ferns and other moss died...

Added neoregelia, pepperomia, & dracena -"1/24"

Coffee arabica, beleive it or not...despite wet feet. Maybe the water pumps keeping it moving stops the root rot. Thought Id test with coffee before trying psychotrias or tabernaemontanas. I think I will try some when I have some more established. They grow so slow...

Pinguicula #13 "Alfred lau" (carnivorous)

Anubias sp. (Mostly submerged)

Nanodes mathewsii "Emily" (epiphytic, mounted high on some oak)

Spirulina (aquatic algae)

Phyllobates vittatus (dart frogs)

I tried bobinsana and heimia myrtifolia, but I think they were too young for the transplant. I've been throwing old physallis berries in there to feed the feeder bugs, maybe some will sprout.

And a bunch of bugs.. Been throwing small amounts feeders in there for months, dubia and Guyana roaches, plus earthworms, Rollie-pollies, centipedes, anything weird from the yard. I need to do more work on this end, but I got a plan...

That's it... It's really undervegetated.
So help me
What are some coasta rican plants, or neotropical bog plants?
Thanks!

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[Ian Morris]

Awesome project.  Can we get pics when you are ready to share? 

I am not sure how the soil PH would be but if its acidic you can add some really cool carnivorous plants.  I have been on the look out for interesting sundews for a while and one interesting variety is drosera capillaris, that is native to parts of Central America.  They would obviously compete with the frogs for insects but a collection of sundews and pitcher plants would be pretty cool.

Good luck, looking forward to following this thread.
-Ian

[XDX]

Word thanks! I forgot about drosera...

Here's a few pics; normally I'd keep the glass cleaner, but I'm lettin go today. I had to pick up some bromeliads, this couple's feisty!! Last week they were hanging out behind the waterfall on the left side of the tank, pretty exclusively on that side of the water. But yesterday an today, they've been chasing each other all over the place, the males singin singin singin... I think they were lookn for some egg layin spots, which I was lacking.
Sooo, I picked up a fat neoregelia that I split and mounted all over, some low-lying compact pepperomias, and a bromiliad-like dracena. Just w/e nursery plants, don't come with much info. Anyway, the frogs are especially shy today cause I seriously interrupted their love-makin with the renovations.
Check it out!
First pic: left-side waterfall- from front to back theres a ficus groundcover, pepperomia, palms, neoregelia (mounted), and another pepperomia
2nd: zoomed out a bit for some context, anubias half in water, orchid Nanodes mathewsii "Emily" mount, dracena at the right of the "bridge"
3rd: zoomed out of the right, lots of light and dark spots, high spots low spots, wet n dry, etc, there's a peice of plexiglass coverin the screen top over that side of the tank (left sides open screen)
4th: zoom in center, it gets kind of crowded in here, but the best are they're in front, ping "Alfred lau" to the right, coffea arabica to the left.... Behind that, more palms neos and pepperomias, there's a philodendron back there too (I lied, it's a phil, not pathos)
5th: zoom center again, focus on that orchid and dracena, neos to the right

I'll get some pics of the frogs sometime; I hear him, but they're hiding

5 Likes TBM, gnosis, AcaciaAve, HulGil and Skink like this.

[XDX]

I really want more medicinal/spiritual plants in here, but what I really need are a few diff plants that can thrive in conditions like "lucky bamboo" (that's really dracaena, right?), small semi-aquatics. The furthest right of the tank is pretty boggy, and rather brown

[Ian Morris]

Great pics thanks!

I just stumbled across this plant in a spring seed catalog. 

Datura ceratocaula is a water growing datura that has blue/green tinted flowers.  I had read somewhere that average ducks have 40x the resistance to the mix of alkaloids in datura, apparently ducks love eating this one and instead of dying they remain too toxic to eat.  Can you imagine eating duck confit only to poison yourself?  Crazy.  I do see a potential downside given that most reference this datura as invasive, so maybe get a duck to...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datura_ceratocaula

btw, Horizon Herbs has the seed, great company too

-Ian

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[Bach]

A really good candidate would be Justicia pectoralis. It stays small enough for your space, likes damp conditions and has pretty little purple/pink flowers during the winter months.

While not entheogenic itself (I think) it is used as a Virola snuff additive.

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[BubbleCat]

Maybe look at

Acorus Calamus
Caltha Palustris
Alisma Plantago Aquatica
Filipendula Ulmaria
Iris Versicolor
Mentha Aquatica
Menyanthes Trifoliata
Nymphaea Alba
Petasites Hybridus
and Veronica Beccabunga

I dont exactly know about their cultivation and your glass box, but they all like it soaking wet and are entheigenic or healing.

1 Like XDX likes this.

[XDX]

hmmm funny, I've been kinda drawn to justicia recently, I keep stumbling on it  when researching diff things... I've never seen the plant growing, but I deff think there's a strong spirit to it, it's more than just a flavoring or filler. At the grocery store, in the Hispanic food aisle, u can usually find a tea called something like "7 blossom tea"... Last time I picked some up, it's 7 blossoms included chamomile, passionflower, linden, anise seed, rose petals, Tilo star (aka justicia pectoralis), and something else, maybe lemon balm? Well this tea definately has effect. Justicia has a lot of coumarins, among other things, which have subtler effects alone, but can greatly enhance other experiences.
Anyone know where to find some justicia? What's the best method of propagation?

That's a good list there bubblecat, I will have to look into those for sure.

I went through my seed collection and scatter an bunch of stuff throughoit the tank; we'll see who grows! Heimia, passionflowers, morning glories, water datura (good call!), some herbs... Something, I think it's a glory, sprouted overnight!

[Greentoe]

Anyone know where to find some justicia? What's the best method of propagation?

I bought my plant from here

They form areal roots, so they're pretty easy to propagate. I just cut off a section that has a few small root buds started then put it in moist soil with a bag over the top. Once it starts showing signs of new growth I remove the bag and return it to normal growing conditions.

I've never seen the plant growing, but I deff think there's a strong spirit to it, it's more than just a flavoring or filler.

I've grown the plant, played around with it a bit, and can attest to the fact that there is more to this plant than just a nice smelling filler.

[Sunshine]

That's a cute little arabica you got there.

[Bach]

I think most of the plants that have been mentioned will quicky outgrow a 55 gal tank. That's why I mentioned Justicia. Just my 2 cents...

Psychotrias would do well in there for a while...

1 Like TBM likes this.

[steveoi812]

Just the thread Ive been looking for....a wealth of information and plant selections....just wanted to see if the OP is still around and if so...do you have any updated pictures of how the tank is coming along?? very cool...I need to start using the search function more often!! lol (sorry for bringing up an old thread)

1 Like kykeion likes this.

[XDX]

I'm in the midst of like a gazillion projects right now... as things settle down, i promise i will post lots of pics!!

I planted up this poison dart frog paludarium/vivarium last year with many different common terrarium plants, as well as some ethnobotanicals.
there is a list of some of the different species i had added to the tank. in addition to these, i tried to just toss some different seeds in and let them do their thing, rather than planting established plants.

more or less, most plants lived for a month or two, then died off, probably from too wet of feet- root rot. its a pretty damp ecosystem. the winners, above all else, are the neoregelia (mounted into corkboard walls, not in ground), the draceana, and the small bamboo-looking palms. only the neoregelia have grown noticeably, producing a few new off-shoots.

I have added some mycrorrhizae soil amendments, as well as some drops of some mystery spore solutions, there is definitely a living mycelium network present.

the frogs did have one baby this summer, which is super awesome and cool, and partially a sign of a healthy ecosystem, although, in reality, they probably should have had 3-4 babies at a time, and maybe done that 2 or 3 times, so some adjustments still need to be made.
then, i havent heard the male sing or seen all 3 at once in maybe 2 months... he used to sing daily.... it could be seasonal, maybe they can tell its winter here and just arent in the mood; it doesnt smell bad like hes died, and i cant think of a good reason why the female and baby would survive, but not the male, except maybe age. I miss that lil chirp, i hope hes just hiding out.

I am rooting up some justicia pectoralis right now. onced established, i will add a few plants to the tank, as suggested by Bach... i think this will make a good addition, as the plants natural range of habitat covers that of the dart frogs i believe (if not, than fairly close/similar), likes low light, damp conditions, is an attractive plant, and has some cultural significance as well.

Oh! i do have some of these biolumenscent mushroom plugs to play around with, should be cool...

as far as the other projects go, i am working on some new indoor set-ups, starting new ethno seeds, starting new food seeds, so i will have to look through what i have and see if anything might be a good fit. some Rivea corymbosa seeds just popped; those were among the seeds i tossed in, and they sprouted, then died. perhaps with intentional planting, it may do better. i know they can get big, but ive had some in pots before, and cant get them to grow fast at all, and eventually gave up after 4 or 5 years of dying back to the ground each winter and starting over in the spring, and not getting more than a foot or so of growth each year. i think it will be manageable in the tank, for a few years at least.

as well as the planting projects, i also have new critter projects! ive been passed down a small reptile breeding operation to maintain while my buddy goes on tour this year. i have many many critters to take care of and kick it with now, with several different habitats. this means i can create many different ethnobotanical habitats for all these critters! with a whole spectrum of climates!


blahh, soo im in a swirl of projects, doing all of them at the same time, jugglemasta 3000. Im sure im forgetting several things....
so ask lots of questions! ill start some new threads for some of the diff projects...
thank you all for your interest and ideas! and for baring my disorganized ramblings! this place helps me dump a bunch of my ideas down somewhere, review & organize it, and get excellent advise & direction.

4 Likes TBM, BubbleCat, plantlight and mj like this.

[plantlight]

Looking forward to pics

[Biotopia]

Omphalotus Nidiformis is a bioluminescent species of mushroom that grows on logs.. I have no personal experience growing it but imagine you could grow it with dowel spawn similar to Lentinus Edodes.  The site I purchased my Pleurotus ostreatus cultures from has it available. Out-grow.com